News Odisha

Redrafting strategy to avert intimidating chase

Bhubaneswar: The fight is no longer one-sided. Nor is the rival any longer inferior. And the chase is a also a very close one. And, any slight and silly mistake would cost dearly. This jittery thought is giving sleepless nights to the ruling BJD in Odisha.

With such intimidating close chase, the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha is trying hard to consolidate its position among different worker classes, slum dwellers and other marginalised sections to make up for the losses.

The apparent shift of the lower-middle class, middle-class people and intellectuals towards the BJP – a fact that was proved in the rural polls early this year - has come as a strong signal for the BJD, forcing its strategists to redraft their plans to regain their footholds among these sections.

In the last couple of months, chief minister Naveen Patnaik has announced nearly half-a dozen of new programmes and schemes to woo these voters.

In latest of its schemes, the regional party has announced to hike the monthly remuneration of nearly 70 thousand Anganwadi workers.

What is quite noteworthy that it has brought half of the Anganwadi workers under its newly floated trade union Biju Shramik Sangathan (BSS) headed by party BJD secretary Subash Singh.

The new trade union, as planned by the party, - would enroll mining workers, construction workers and industrial work-force, - ostensibly to weaken the trade unions controlled by the BJP, Congress and the Left parties like CPI and CPM.

In August, Naveen had announced had a played a masterstroke by announcing land rights and affordable houses slum dwellers residing in municipalities and Notified Area Councils (NACs) of the state. The state has over three thousand slums with nearly eighty thousand households. On an average each household comprises five members with three adults. It means the party would directly touch around 2.40 lakh urban voters.

On August 29, the CM had announced implementation the much-awaited 7th Pay Commission recommendations from September 1. The decision benefitted around 4.5 lakh state government employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners. The move, according to political commentator Prasanna Mohanty, helped Naveen to retain the party’s overwhelming vote share among the government employees and pensioners.

On October 13, the chief minister announced to provide an assistance of Rs 500 per month to the patients with blood disorders towards their travel expenses for blood transfusion. As per the decision, patients suffering from thalassaemia, haemophilia and sickle cell anaemia coming to the hospital for blood transfusion shall be provided travel assistance of Rs 500 per month. Over 10,000 patients visit various hospitals every month for blood transfusion.

On October 8, - apparently targeting the Bijepur assembly bypoll, - the Odisha chief minister had announced Gangadhar Meher Lift Canal System, an underground pipeline based irrigation system, for the constituency. The project entails an investment of Rs 1200 crore.

Knowing that his arch rival BJP has targeted him for his ignorance of Odisha’s official language Odia, - Naveen on November 14 announced a series of scholarships for students and also teachers.

He declared Rs 5000 scholarship for 10 students of each block for scoring good marks in Odia language. He also announced Rs 5000 scholarship each for a total of 40,000 students for scoring good marks in High School Certificate (HSC) board examinations. This announcement, the analysts say, - would also help the BJD to further cement his direct relationship with guardians of the school children and thereby earn him good votes in the elections.

The Naveen Patnaik government is already implementing free uniforms and bicycle schemes for school children. It is reliably learnt that the state government will soon dole out free shoes to all the school-going children in the state.

On October 25, the CM had announced a drought assistance package for 15 districts where farmers sustained crop loss due to pest attack.

According to 2014 Election Commission of India statistical reports, Odisha has nearly 1.52 voters ( total voters 1519447). In 2014 assembly elections, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD which won 117 seats of 147 seats and formed the government for the fourth consecutive term, polled 93.34 lakh votes, a share of 43.4 per cent. The Congress had polled 55.35 lakh with a vote share of 25.7 per cent while the BJP had finished third with 38.74 lakh with 18 per cent vote share.

With BJP emerging second in the February rural polls, pushing the Congress far behind in the third spot, the BJD chief is apparently worried about retaining power for the fifth consecutive term.

The BJP national president Amit Shah has set a target of 120-plus seats in Odisha in 2019 polls. The saffron party has galvanized its machinery in all the 36,000 booths targeting at least 1.40 crore votes, - 400 votes from each booth

By A K Sahoo

27/11/2017

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